Antonió Horta-Osório's PR move set to ruffle Santander

Spin doctor Alan Parker has become the latest bone of contention in the
rivalry between Antonió Horta-Osório, chief executive of Lloyds
Banking Group, and Ana Botín, who replaced him as boss of Santander UK after
his defection last year.

Back in the limelight. A spokesman for Lloyds said Mr Horta-Osório had sought Mr Parker's advice in a "personal capacity" and that the Portuguese banker had paid for his services out of his own pocket.Photo: Reuters

Since leaving Santander 12 months ago, Mr Horta-Osório has hired scores of former colleagues from the Spanish bank to join him at Lloyds and now appears to have called on his former PR adviser to mastermind his rehabilitation following a highly public battle with insomnia.

After stepping down as chief executive early last month to seek treatment for his illness, Mr Horta-Osório has turned to Mr Parker in recent weeks to help mastermind his return to the bank, which was sealed at a meeting of the Lloyds board on Wednesday.

Mr Parker became close to the Lloyds chief when his PR company Brunswick was brought in to advise Santander UK on building its profile in the City following its acquisition of British lender Abbey.

Brunswick remains the PR adviser to Santander UK, as well as Barclays. Lloyds is advised by City PR firm Tulchan Communications.

A spokesman for Lloyds said Mr Horta-Osório had sought Mr Parker's advice in a "personal capacity" and that the Portuguese banker had paid for his services out of his own pocket.

"Lloyds did not hire Brunswick to work on this [Mr Horta-Osório's reappointment]," he said.

A spokesman for Brunswick said the company had "no official mandate" to work for Lloyds.

Top City PR firms try to avoid conflicts of interest created by advising rival companies. Barclays declined to comment, Santander UK was not available for comment.

Mr Horta-Osório's hire of several senior Santander UK executives, including Antonio Lorenzo, the bank's former finance director, and risk management head Juan Colomba is understood to have upset senior staff at Santander, where he had worked for more than a decade.